The Elegant Bridal Guide- Winter- Issue 23-1

Photo by Vivid Studios, Inc.

Welcome to our 2023 issue...

The team at BRIDAL EXPO BRIDAL GUIDE

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LETTER from the EDITOR

Congratulations and Happy New Year! You’re beginning one of the most thrilling times of your life - wedding planning! With the beginning of a brand new year, we celebrate all things new and exciting, like saying yes to a lifetime with your love, or starting a new home together as a married couple.

We are so proud to produce the twenty third edition of this magazine. We hope each and every page brings you inspiration and helps guide you towards your dream wedding! In this Winter/Spring issue you will find a diverse selection of local wedding providers from all over Central Illinois, content rich articles, advice, encouragement and so much more!

Round out your local planning timeline by attending the Central Illinois’ largest wedding planning experience, The Elegant Bridal Expo. Want to meet and talk with local wedding experts in person all in one day? We gather the elite professionals together so you can chat, compare, and get advice on the spot. It’s all things wedding, all in one place!

I am absolutely thrilled to introduce editor of this fabulous resource couples with businesses since The Elegant Expo Group, Inc. resource for everything weddings online. From stunning photos access to the wedding professionals planning pages, you can count throughout your entire engagement.

We are so proud to produce the fifteenth edition selection of local wedding providers from all over bridal directory will help guide you towards your

Last but certainly not least, please let any wedding professional you talk to and meet with, via this magazine, online or an Elegant Bridal Expo, know that we sent you. Warmest wishes for a happy wedding day filled with love!

Please be sure to let these oh-so-wonderful wedding and how you found them. Our business has been success these companies experience with our products the pages of this magazine, an exhibit display at our website, your acknowledgment allows us to continue tools in the area.

Congratulations on your engagement, and we wish your journey as you plan this special day.

Warmest wishes for a happy wedding day filled with

Warmest wishes for a happy wedding day filled with love!

Ashley Peecher, Publisher & Editor contact@elegantbridalexpo.com

Ashley Plunkett, Publisher & Editor contact@elegantbridalexpo.com

www.elegant

www.elegantbridalexpo.com

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@theelegantbridalexpo

www.facebook.com/theelegantbridalexpo

Photo by Vivid Studios, Inc.

So Chic Boutique has been a Peoria area favorite for gifts and wedding supplies since 2013. The first boutique opened its doors in Morton, and four years later, a second shop was added in Peoria Heights.

Sara O’Shea, the entrepreneur behind both gorgeously curated shops, got her start in the wedding industry as an event planner with So Chic Events, founded in 2007. For 12 years, Sara has been a champion for local business, a powerhouse of ideas and local events, and a curator with a gift for making the shopping and planning experiences feel truly personal.

Now, there is even more on the horizon for So Chic:

CUSTOM INVITATION SUITES

So Chic Boutique has offered custom inhouse invitations for 3 years, but just in the past month, they have upped their game, Sara says.

“We have two, full-time graphic designers now so we can offer custom suites at a greater scale,” she says. “The timing is great because while wedding invites are our bread and butter, we can do shower invitations, signage, wedding day details, programs, etc. We can take care of all of it.”

Currently, there is a huge divide among couples about how to do their wedding stationery. Many engaged couples opt to go online for invites, but Sara says that personal assistance can’t be beat.

“There are so many little nuances, and until their wedding, many couples have never had a reason to order formal stationery in their lives,” she says. “So having someone who is in stationery and can walk through what you need in your invitations is really helpful, which you can’t get with the online process. People are often surprised that they can get comparable pricing to online with the personal help.”

Photography by Kara Kamienski

WEDDING DAY INVITATIONS + PAPERS

What Sara says she loves most about offering custom invitations in-house is that they can really carry details through your whole wedding. Even if a couple purchased their invitations online or elsewhere, So Chic can still offer wedding day paper for them and match previous designs.

“A lot of the online places that do invites don’t do coordinating wedding day details so we have some brides who just work with us for wedding day paper,” she says.

Sara added that she loves the aesthetics of cohesive details.

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“Seeing those details carried through is something people will notice,” she says. “I think that events of any size, and any budget, should still have all the style and design they deserve.”

This personalized process, and the fact that you can sit down and talk to a live person, is what sets it apart, Sara says.

Photography by Kara Kamienski

“People are being so much more creative and infusing their personalities in their stationery,” she says. “People are making them so much more personalized, like using a customized monogram or even their dog, to make it about who they are as a couple.”

If you want to work with So Chic to design wedding invitations, 6 months ahead of the big day is the ideal time to get in touch. But don’t panic if your wedding is sooner; shorter turnaround is totally doable. Once your invitations are ready, Sara recommends sending them out 8-10 weeks before your wedding.

Visit thesochicboutique.com to set up an appointment.

THE SO CHIC BOUTIQUE

As a lover of all things wedding, So Chic Boutique first started as an offshoot of Sara’s wedding planning services. Brides-to-be could find reception decorations and wedding essentials at the store, but over time, customers began to request even more gift options for bridesmaids, parents and event hosts.

“It’s still amazing to me how many people don’t know the stores exist and that it’s not just a wedding store,” Sara says. “It’s a full-service experience. We want you to come in and let us help you pick out bridesmaids gifts, hostess gifts, wrap the gifts, and have the whole small business shopping experience. You can still plan a party with us and buy pretty party things, but you can still shop if there’s not a wedding in your future.”

“... we bought a big old post office truck, which I think is so fitting because we’re a stationery store,” Sara

SO CHIC BOUTIQUE MOBILE

So Chic Boutique is hitting the road this summer, and you can soon shop your favorites at local events.

“In May we bought a big old post office truck, which I think is so fitting because we’re a stationery store,” Sara says. “We’re outfitting it to be a mobile boutique. It’s a fun way we can have a presence at all these fun events. It’s like a baby version of our store but it’ll definitely feel like our stores.”

Sara says that as her team became more involved with collaborative events and pop-ups, they needed a way to have a presence at more events. Enter the So Chic Boutique mobile, affectionately known as “Toot Toot.”

You can now spot Toot Toot at events around town so follow So Chic Boutique on Facebook and Instagram and sign up for the newsletter at sochicboutique.com for updates.

Photo Spot Light

VIVID STUDIOS, INC

Cole + Evin Champaign, IL

I was sooo excited to hear Cole and Evin got engaged. I was patiently awaiting their email to ask us to shoot their wedding! And I was ecstatic when I finally got it! I have known Evin for such a long time. This is without a doubt the best part of my job! We had a beautiful late summer day for their amazing wedding at the Venue CU in Champaign. These two are so sweet together and SO FUN!! They know each other so well. All the laughs and smiles are truly genuine. They are so much in love and I can’t wait to see what the future has in store for them!

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Photo by Vivid Studios, Inc.

VIVID STUDIOS, INC

Kurt & Jessy Kline

Venue Chisca, Peoria, IL

Kurt and Jessy’s late fall wedding was rightfully a beautiful day from start to finish! It might have been just a little chilly but that didn’t stop us from having the most amazing day. Jessy is the most amazing soul. She is so fun and upbeat I couldn’t wait to hang out with her and her bridesmaids all day. We began getting ready with her best girls by her side. She had the most amazing vendors there to make her look stunning. After we were all ready it was time for Kurt to see his beautiful bride. He was so excited to see her. The look on his face was priceless. It is obvious how much these two mean to not only one another but all of their friends and family. Love overflowed from everyone that spoke about them. It is obvious to everyone that they meet that Kurt and Jessy truly deserve one another. HUGE congrats to the new Mr. + Mrs. Kline and thank you for allowing us to be a part of the amazing party!

Wishing you the very best as you make plans for your life together!

The team at BRIDAL

EXPO BRIDAL GUIDE